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(No Model.) C. H. CARTER.

Ru'ff'ling afi'd Puffi'ng. Attaohmentfof Sewing Machines.

N0. 238,086. Patented Feb. 22,1881.

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. CARTER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

RUFFLING AND PUFFING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 238,086, dated February22, 1881.

Application filed August 9, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES H. CARTER, ofBrooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented anImprovement in Ruffling and Puffing Attachments for Sewin g-Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This device is for puffing or ruffling woven fabrics in the act ofsewing the same, so that the sewing secures the small plates togetherand produces the ruffled or puffed appear- Ruffling attachments havebeen made in which there is a spring presser-foot and a reciprocatingfolder moving beneath the same, and a' plate to cover the ordinarysewing-machine feed.

My invention is an improvement upon that class of attachments wherebythe ruffling or puffing may be made in one or more lines at any part ofthe fabric, and in which the parts that perform the ruffling areentirely above the fabric and receive their support from the head of thesewing-machine, so that the fabric that is being ruffled or puffed maybe spread out upon the sewing-machine bed.

My improved ruffling attachment is especially intended for thewell-known Wheeler & Wilson sewing-machine; but it is also adapted tomachines of the same general character.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side view of the ruffler adapted to besecured to the sewing-machine. Fig. 2 is an end view of the same. Fig. 3is a plan of the spring folderplate, and Fig. 4 is an inverted plan ofthe presser-foot plate.

The plate 0b is attached removably to the sewing-machine head by a screwand pins at b, and said plate a is made with arms a (o The arm a has astud or pivot, to which is secured the upper end of the arm or lever c,and the other end of the arm 0 has hinged to it the finger d and springfolder-plate d. The arm a has a stud or pivot, to which is attached thelever 6, one end of which is connected to the lever c by the adjustablelink f.

The lever-arm g is pivoted at h to the lever e, and is slotted at Landthere is a thumbscrew at is passing through said slot into the arm 6,:and said lever-arm g is adjustable thereby, and can be clamped in anydesired position relatively to the arm 6, so as to determine andregulate the amount of movement given to the parts by the sewingmechanism.

The spring folder-plate cl is of thin metal, adapted to pass in betweenthe presser-foot a and the fabric. each side of the needle, as seen inthe plan,

Its end is bifurcated to pass at V Fig. 3, and the ends are made withteeth that point slightly downward, so that the reciprocation of thistoothed plate feeds or pushes the material along and corrugates orruffles such material into plaits of greater or less size, according tothe extent of motion given to the said folder-plate.

The glass piece or plate used in the sewingmachine presser-foot Ireplace with one of metal at it, having the usual needle-hole, and alsoa projection or offset at l on the under side, against which the springfolder-plate d presses the fabric in forming the plaits.

When in operation motion is communicated to my ruffling attachment by ascrew or projection on the needle-bar, as shown at t by dot- 7 w tedlines in Fig. 1, which in its up-and-down movement comes into contactwith and moves the lever e and arm g, and through them communicates atbrward-and-backward movement to the lever c and spring folder-plate d.

In some of the ruftlin g attachments heretofore made a separating-plateis employed between the work and the machine-feed to prevent theoperation of said feed. Others, again dispense with it, and, followingthese latter, I allow the machine-feed to operate, because it regulatesthe length of the stitch, and it moves on the fabric during the upwardstroke of the needle and the backward movement of the springfolder-plate d, and just before said feed-plate receives its forwardmovement, and the parts are so arranged and timed that the reciprocatingspring folder-plate will push forward and form the plait or fold in thefabric, hold the same while the descending needle makes the stitch, andthen recede in time to permitof the free action of the sewing-machinefeed in moving along the fabric, and said alternating movement preventsinterference of the parts. During the forward stroke of the folder-plated the machine-feed is depressed below the bed-plate, and in its returnmovement, while the ruffled or puffed portion of the fabric is held bythe offset 1 of the presser-foot. The plate (1 is thus free to act inits forward stroke to ruffle or puff the fabric, which is unobstructedby the sewing-machine feed.

In making band-ruffling I will employ a separating-plate, attached tothe machine-bed independently of and separate from the ruffler, as shownin my application filed July 1, 1880.

By moving the arm 9 and changing its angle of inclination I am able tovary the backward movement of the folder-plate with great accuracy, andthereby make the folds or plaits of the fabric larger or smaller. In allcases the folder-plate simply acts to fold the fabric and hold it inposition, while the needle passes through the fabric as the ordinarysewing-machine feed acts to move the goods after the needle rises.

I make the under surface of the presser-foot with an offset located inthe rear of the needlehole, so that the folder-plate will not have toact also as a feed to the sewing-machine; but it will have room enoughto lay the plait correctly beneath the presser-foot, and the sewin g-machine acts to feed the fabric between the time the needle draws out ofthe fabric and its re-entrance into such fabric, and such feed acts uponthe plaited fabric that is beneath the offset of the presser -foot. Thefabric can be spread out between the ruffling attachment and the bed ofthe machine, so as to be ruffled or puffed in any part of the fabric.

The sewingis performed in any desired manner, and'the line or lines ofstitching unite the folds or plaits of the fabric and keep them in theirproper relative positions.

In order to guide the fabric and make one line of puffin g parallel withanother, I employ an ordinary sewing-machine gage at the end ofahorizontal rod that passes through aclamp, said clamp being secured tothe plate a or to the head of the machine.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a ruifling and puffing attachment, theframe a and the lever c, pivoted thereto and carrying the folder-blade,combined with the lever 6, adjustable arm 9, and connecting-link f,whereby motion may be imparted to said lever c from the needle-bar of asewing-machine to cause the folder-plate to plait a fabric, constructedand arranged substantially as described.

2. The plate a, lever c, and presser-foot n, in combination with thehinged finger d, folderplate (1, lever 0, arm 9, and link f, the partsbeing constructed and operating substantially in the manner and for thepurposes set forth.

Signed by me this 6th day of August, A. D. 1880.

CHAS. H. CARTER.

Witnesses:

' GEO. T.P1N0KNEY, WILLIAM G. Mom.

